Published January 17, 2026
By Arlis Dittmer
As a port city on the Mississippi River, Quincy had travelers, Civil War veterans, widows, and orphans passing through. Many times these folks needed assistance particularly during the winter. In November 1869, several Quincy community leaders met to discuss these needs. The November 30, 1869 Quincy Daily Herald mentions a public meeting “for the purpose of organizing an association for the relief of the poor of our city during the coming winter.” The group decided that four persons from each city ward would solicit monetary pledges and distribute the aid in each ward from December 1 to April 1. The assembled citizens pledged money, food stuffs, and dry goods. The newspaper further states on December 4, 1869 that “The poor must be cared for, and the demands of the deserving, who have lost in life’s lottery and been wrecked amidst destitution and suffering, are undisputable. Every person in the enjoyment of health and work should give something… .”
The entire process was repeated in December of 1870, with the December 28, 1870 Quincy Daily Herald reporting “The demand and necessities are greater than a year ago.” Lorenzo Bull, a business owner and civic leader, “suggested that it would be well to provide for the establishment of a permanent organization for the relief of the poor, who are certain always to be with us.”
In the fall of 1873, with the same conditions looming, the association gathered 12 citizens and incorporated themselves under state law as the Charitable Aid and Hospital Association of Quincy Illinois. The document states that “the object of this Association shall be the relief and support of sick, destitute and dependent persons and the establishment and maintenance of an Infirmary and Hospital in said City of Quincy.”
By 1874, the Association was under contract with the Board of Supervisors “for the care and support of the poor and indigent paupers of the city of Quincy.” This aid was to be provided throughout the entire year. For the next two years, 300-500 people per month were supported with total expenses ranging between $8,000 and $10,000. In 1876, one of the elected supervisors, Gustav Levi, was awarded the contract to provide for the poor from his own business and the businesses of other supervisors.
Over the years, the association members witnessed the difficulty in helping the poor, who were often sick, in their homes. According to an Association Report, “Those who have not seen for themselves can have but a little idea of what it is to be sick in those homes of poverty, where there is stench, dirt, dampness, and whatever fosters disease and misery… .” There was a City Poor House, also known as the City Infirmary “which had none of the essentials of a hospital and the ….Hospital on Broadway (which) was frequently too full to take patients.” St. Mary Hospital had opened in October 1867 with 50 beds. Father Schaefermeyer of St. Boniface had asked the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor to come to Quincy to do home nursing and establish a Catholic hospital because he too was dissatisfied with the care of the sick and indigent at the City Poor House. The nursing sisters arrived in 1866 and began doing social work and home nursing until the hospital opened the following year.
Even with the established St. Mary Hospital, by the fall of 1874, the Charitable Aid and Hospital Association was committed to building a hospital which opened for patients on May 10, 1875. According to the Quincy Whig, May 8, 1875, caring for the poor and those in the City Poor House “made the provision of this new hospital imperative…it was determined to provide a place where any sick person in the city, who had no home, or whose home lacked such essential and desirable things, might have the best of medical and surgical skill, careful nursing, a clean and well ventilated room, good diet and pleasant surroundings.” Blessing Hospital took less than one year to build on land donated by Matthias and Sarah Denman. The hospital was a two-story brick building facing Spring St. between 10th and 11th funded solely by donations with no debt. It had two wood burning furnaces, hot and cold running water, and twenty beds in 12 wards, with room for 10 more. The hospital cost $8500 to build plus the site value of $3000.
When the hospital opened for patients, Mrs. Ellen W. Williams was the matron and Dr. R. W. McMahon was the physician in charge. Anyone needing hospital care was to apply to Dr. McMahon at his office on Eight and Hampshire Streets or at the Relief Association office on 25 S. Fifth St. The hospital would not accept patients with contagious or venereal diseases. The May 8, 1875 Quincy Whig said “Like schools and libraries, hospitals are for no single class. Those who are destitute will be made welcome, and those who, being able, prefer to pay the cost of their maintenance, will be allowed to do so.”
As the smaller of the two city hospitals, Blessing Hospital cared for only 208 patients in its first two years. The hospital relied on the contributions of the 20 protestant churches, B’nai Shalom Temple, and the generosity of the citizens of the community to survive. The major diagnoses of those first two years were intermittent fever, pneumonia, and other unspecified pulmonary complaints. The Board of Trustees, with John Wood as the president, operated the facility with the matron, physician, and various maids and handymen.
The difficulties of running the hospital became taxing for the Board of Trustees. On February 9, 1878, William Bull, secretary of the Charitable Aid and Hospital Association, invited 31 Quincy women to take over hospital management, believing their leadership would yield the best results. They formed a Board of Lady Managers. The Trustees would manage the building, grounds, and finances while the Lady Managers would provide internal supervision to the hospital. Their duties included fundraising, buying and distributing supplies, inspecting the facility, hiring the staff, deciding who could be admitted, and discussing the care of the patient.
To be continued.
Arlis Dittmer is a retired health science librarian and former president of the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County. During her years with Blessing Health System, she became interested in medical and nursing history—both topics frequently overlooked in history.
Sources:
Certificate of Incorporation of the Charitable Aid and Hospital Association of Quincy, Illinois, October 27, 1873. Quincy, IL: Blessing Archives.
Report of the Charitable Aid and Hospital Association: To the Public [Brochure]. Quincy, IL: Blessing Archives, 1877.
“Charitable Aid.” The Quincy Whig, May 8, 1875.
“City News.” The Quincy Daily Herald, November 30, 1869.
“Relief Association.” The Quincy Daily Herald, December 28, 1870.
Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis. Annual Report of St. Mary’s Hospital, Quincy Illinois: For the year 1915. Quincy, IL: Blessing Archives.
“The Relief Association.” The Quincy Daily Herald, December 4, 1869.
